The day that was
by The TrendSetter
Summary: There was something fishy. No one became deaf because of a cold. The boy was up to something. He was sure. But what? He couldn't, for the life of him, imagine. But secretly, he was enjoying it – every bit of it. 'If only Pankaj would tell me what he's up to', he thought to himself smiling. He decided to keep a watch over his activities through the day.
1. Chapter 1

…..

The day was longer than usual. In fact, a new day had started even before the previous one ended. Or it seemed like that. And Pankaj was both sick and tired. He was having a bad cold – the result of having jumped into the pool for an investigation. Worse, he had been continuously making reports on the last 3 cases they had solved, that all he wanted to do was, go home and rest.

Pankaj was exhausted. He had actually wanted to take the day off. But he knew he wouldn't be allowed to. So he had to actually drag himself to work that morning. He was bored. 'Nothing ever happens here!' he thought to himself. He wanted to have fun. He wanted the others to have fun too and there was only one way to do it. It was in his hands.

'Should I let some of the others in on it?' he debated with himself. 'No', he decided after a thoughtful silence. 'If the others know, they are sure to give it away at some point of time. That will not work'.

It was then that he hit upon a wonderful idea. He was excited and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Purvi noticed it during the day and wondered what he was up to. She had even gone up to him and asked him about it. 'Why, Nothing at all' he had replied, making his expression as innocent as he possibly could. She was not convinced, but decided to let it be for the time being.

Pankaj waited for the others to finish off their important tasks for the day. Once he was sure that all urgent work had been completed, he decided to put his plan into action. He didn't really want anyone to get into trouble because of him.

…..

Aatishoooooo!

The sound startled every single person in the bureau. The girls, who were sorting out some papers jumped out of their skins and Freddy, who was carrying a bunch of files across to the ACP, dropped the whole lot in fright sending a cloud of dust in all directions.

'Cough..Cough.. What have you done Freddy?', screamed a teary eyed ACP walking out of his cabin. Every other person in the bureau started sneezing as well and Pankaj took the opportunity to sneeze a little extra loudly startling everyone yet again.

'Pankaj, why do you make so much of a noise?' asked Shreya, the irritation clearly evident on her face. 'Lost my voice? No. I haven't. See I can speak and even sing' said Pankaj giving her a very solemn expression. And to establish his innocence, he actually began singing the Humpty Dumpty rhyme in the most horrendous voice possible.

Sachin and Rajat exchanged sidelong glances while Nikhil almost dropped his jaw in amazement. Freddy shut his eyes and covered his ears at the same time, not able to bear the noise. The ACP looked on unable to believe his ears, or even his eyes for that matter. How could someone sing a silly nursery rhyme in the bureau? And that too with him around.

'PANKAJ!' he yelled, stomping his foot on the ground and shaking his fists in the air, as the others looked on horrified.

But no! Pankaj continued to sing loudly – and with actions this time. Knowing that he was in for the ACP's wrath, Rajat nudged him. He stopped his song and turned to look at Rajat with questioning eyes. Rajat was now moving his eyes and nose and mouth and every other muscle on his face trying to make Pankaj shut up. No luck! It didn't look like Pankaj understood. No. Actually, it didn't look like Pankaj wanted to understand at all. 'What Rajat sir?' he asked, rather loudly.

Rajat put his head down trying to suppress his desire to laugh. 'What happened to you Pankaj? Why are you singing in the bureau?' asked Sachin, surprised that anyone can continue to fool around with ACP right behind.

'New road? No. I don't know of any new road' replied Pankaj as the others looked on in surprise. 'There is this old road near my house. It leads to the park besides the beach. I used to play there when I was small with my cousin. You know sir, we loved to sit on the see-saw and play. When my cousin goes up, I go down. Then I go up and she goes down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down…..' he continued.

'No.. No.. Pankaj. Not new road. I said bureau.. BUREAU' said Sachin almost yelling in exasperation. He looked around at the others helplessly, and they in turn gave him looks of reassurance. The ACP was almost bursting with anger. He wanted to say a lot of things. But the girls managed to escort him to his cabin before he lost it, and Sachin, for the second time around, tried his best to knock some sense into Pankaj's head. Fooling about with ACP sir around? It was something unheard of.

Pankaj seemed to be in his own world. Did he really have a problem with his ears? Or was he just playing the fool. No one could say.

Nikhil however decided to go and get Dr. Salunkhe. 'Forensic or not, he was a doctor and may have some cure for Pankaj's sudden deafness' thought he as he ran across to the lab. It wasn't long before both Dr. Salunkhe and Dr. Tarika walked into the bureau. No sooner than they had entered, the girls went running up to them to inform them of Pankaj's "strange deafness" as they called it.

'You sure he is not faking it?' asked Tarika. 'Positive!' replied Purvi, though quite unsure. 'I doubt if anyone can put on an act for very long with Pradyuman around' put in Dr. Salunkhe turning to look at Pankaj who was now sitting at his desk engrossed in the game of solitaire he was playing. Every other person in the bureau seemed to be confused. They couldn't concentrate on work – there wasn't any serious work anyways. Something had happened to Pankaj, they were sure. But what? That was the question on their minds.

'If only Daya sir was here', said Shreya wistfully. 'Uh.. um.. he would have been able to help Pankaj' she immediately added after noticing the glares from around. 'That's what I am here for Shreya' said Dr. Salunkhe teasingly and Shreya flushed red at the mention of her name. Purvi and Tarika exchanged smiles while the boys nudged one another and giggled. Pankaj was of course, still glued in his game, oblivious to the activity in the bureau.

Walking up to Pankaj and holding him by his shoulder, he asked him slowly and clearly 'Pankaj! What is the matter? Do you have a cold?' 'Gold? No sir. Why would I have gold? My cousin sister has some though. She got it from my grandmother. My grandmother got it from her mother and she….' he went on, unaware of the staring faces. Dr. Salunkhe was taken aback. Although the others had given him a warning, he had never expected it to be this bad.

'PANKAJ!', it was the ACP yelling again as he stormed out of his cabin.

'Arre Pradyuman, just get back inside and don't come out until I tell you to!', said Dr. Salunkhe as he urged his friend back into his cabin and closed the door behind. Thankfully, the ACP did not object for he had no intensions of wasting his time on Pankaj. The doctor heaved a sigh of relief as he turned his attention back to Pankaj who gave a sudden snort of laughter, but smothered it with a cough, just in time.

'Pankaj', he tried again, a little softer this time, 'What is the matter?'

'Fatter?' he asked, visibly annoyed. 'No sir. I haven't become any fatter. In fact, I've lost 4.32 kilos after I joined the CID' he concluded, fairly upset. Nikhil gave a gasp! And so did the doctor. This was too much for Freddy, who collapsed on to his chair in a fit of laughter and the doctor, realizing that he wasn't going to get anything out of Pankaj, shook his head and went off to join Tarika.

Pankaj's condition seemed to be getting worse by the day. And it was up to him to help him. 'I'll be back in sometime' he said as he abruptly left the bureau, Tarika at his heels.

There was something fishy. No one became deaf because of a cold. The boy was up to something. He was sure. But what? He couldn't, for the life of him, imagine. But secretly, he was enjoying it – every bit of it. 'If only Pankaj would tell me what he's up to', he thought to himself smiling. He told Tarika nothing. He wanted to confirm his suspicions before he told her anything.

He decided to keep a watch on him. It was close to lunch time. If he was acting, he was sure to mess up during lunch. Pankaj's love for eating and his undivided attention and concentration for food was a standing joke among the officers. 'So its very unlikely that he will be on guard while he eats. I will catch him red handed then' he decided.

He sat looking at the clock. It was 12:40 pm. Another 20 minutes to go. And then he would know. Why did the time have go so slowly - especially when he was waiting for something? 'Pankaj.. Play all you want to now.. Another 20 minutes, and I will catch you red handed… You can't fool me, Dr. Salunkhe!' he muttered under his breadth as he waited….

A/N: My first attempt at humor. Am I bearable or do I suck at this genre? Should I continue or do I leave it as is? Do let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

He must have dozed off for a minute waiting, for he found himself being suddenly woken up by Pankaj's scream. He always did that at lunch, or rather, to indicate that it was lunchtime. The ACP had initially tried reprimanding him for that. But since glares and stares did not work well enough with Pankaj, he had decided to let it be. 'Anyways, he saves me the trouble of setting an alarm for lunch' he had told Salunkhe, shrugging his shoulders, the other day.

Not wanting to lose a minute, Dr. Salunkhe rushed downstairs with his lunch. The others were already at the table listening to Abhijeet, Daya and Vineet, who had just returned from the National Crime Records Bureau after updating the files about their latest case. 'Salunkhe sir, you are joining us for lunch today?' asked Daya surprised, seeing him at the table. 'You've come alone?' Abhijeet added, his eyes searching for his beloved Tarika-ji.

Dr. Salunkhe made a face at the mention of Tarika's name, but said nothing except that he was here to observe Pankaj. He didn't want to waste his energy on Abhijeet just then. They hadn't heard of Pankaj's 'strange deafness' and were amazed at the news.

'Pankaj has turned deaf?' asked Vineet in horror. 'I'm sure he must be playing a trick' added Daya lowering his voice. He didn't want the ACP to hear him. Abhijeet looked around the table and exclaimed 'But where is Pankaj?' He wanted to be the first one who got the truth out of him. 'He has gone to collect his lunch. His folks are out of town. He has arranged for food with a dabbawala' put in Nikhil beaming. He was glad knew something that the others didn't and he beamed in pride – that is, until Sachin banged his head with his fists in exasperation.

'I wonder if the dabbawala's food will be enough for him' wondered Purvi. 'Yeah.. His mom always sent him a big lunch basket' added Shreya as she opened her lunchbox. The others soon did the same and had even started on their meal. But there was no sign of Pankaj.

'What if he saw through my plan?' panicked Dr. Salunkhe for a second. But he soon brushed his thoughts aside for he could see Tarika walking in with her lunch and behind her was a dejected Pankaj. 'They fooled me. No lunch came' he said, flopping down on the empty chair between Purvi and Tarika.

A most delicious lunch had been laid out on the table – or so it seemed to Pankaj. The long table was set with a mélange of the most delicious looking food from the various houses. There was also the most scrumptious – looking fruit salad with ice cream for dessert – supplied by Rajat – it was his dad's birthday. Pankaj's eyes lit up at the sight of such awesome food. 'This is going to be the best lunch ever', he thought to himself, his eye moving from one box to the other.

The boys eyed Pankaj a little warily, but Pankaj – eager to make a good impression on the others – was on his best behavior and very cheerily asked Purvi 'Whats that Purvi? The white spongy thing in the corner of your lunch box?' eyeing her box all the time. Purvi was surprised at the question that made everyone, now look into her lunch. 'Oh that… That's some cake' she replied embarrassed. 'Shreya's mom had given me the recipe for it the other day and it had turned out pretty…..' She had to leave her sentence hanging mid way, for Poof! The cake was gone.

There were no traces of the cake anywhere. The officers at the table simply roared with laughter at this. All except Purvi, of course, who couldn't bear to think that he had eaten all of the cake, fushed angrily. Even the ACP had to hide a smile, but hide it he did, for he certainly didn't want Pankaj to think that his act was accepted. Now that Purvi's box had been emptied, Pankaj, in the meanwhile, shifted his attention to Tarika, who was the nearest to him.

Looking into her lunchbox, he exclaimed in excitement 'Aloo parathas? They are my favourite!' It was Tarika's turn to panic now. 'No Pankaj', she began 'I'm very hungry and I only have a few' she finished, determined to save her parathas. Unfortunately for her, Pankaj was smarter. 'All for you?' he cried out in sheer delight 'That's so nice of you Dr. Tarika' he concluded, almost snatching the box of parathas from her hand and stuffing them into his mouth.

Tarika was almost taken aback at the sudden attack on her food. Her feeble cries of 'No… I didn't say all for you.. I said I only have a few' were drowned by the sounds of the others laughing. She had thought that she managed to put Pankaj in place and hadn't expected this at all. She got up and walked away from the table irritated and pouting.

Rajat was the first one to recover from the shock. 'Seriously Pankaj' he said. 'You should have more decency than that'. Pankaj didn't seem to hear it. He continued to tear up the parathas, dip them in the bowl yoghurt and eat them, all in an exaggerated action. He then looked up at the others and flashed them a wide hyena-like smile.

'There is something wrong with the boy' said the ACP, while his eyes searched Pankaj's face. Pankkaj did not flinch under the scrutiny and that seemed to satisfy the ACP. 'Good. So the boy is not playing a trick like I had expected', he though to himself as he slowly left the table.

Dr. Salunkhe seemed more confused than ever. He had come down wanting to catch Pankaj red-handed. But it looked like the boy was too smart for him. 'There ought to be another way. But I need to take someone's help. Whom can I ask?' he though to himself studying the faces around him.

His eyes moved around from one smiling face to another. Only one person seemed a little angry. And that was Abhijeet. Although, he had laughed along when Pankaj gobbled up Purvi's cake, he did not appreciate him confiscating Tarika's parathas – and that made him a little angry.

'He is the right one. I will discuss my plans with him and ask him for his opinions' decided Dr. Salunkhe looking at Abhijeet.


	3. Chapter 3

It was close to seven in the evening. Most of the juniors had left for the day and so had Daya. Abhijeet sat at his desk with the ACP and Rajat discussing an old case that was due for hearing at the high court, the next day. The lower court had given a verdict in their favour, but Jagaa, the criminal and his lawyer had challenged the verdict and had filed a petition in the high court – the hearing of which was scheduled for the next day. Someone had to go to court to represent the team – just for formality sake. There really wasn't a need. No questions to be asked or witnesses to be testified. But someone had to be there from the team and no one wanted to go – atleast none of the seniors did. 'We'll think about whom to send tomorrow' said the ACP as he got up from his chair. They were all about to leave when Dr. Salunkhe came down and asked to speak to Abhijeet – alone.

Both the ACP and Rajat were a bit surprised; nevertheless they since they had finished their meeting, left the table, without another word. Although the doctor's request surprised Abhijeet as well, he took care to hide it from the others. He had first assumed it to be the usual 'Why are you behind Tarika all the time? – Who me? No I'm not!' conversation. But as he listened to what the doctor had to say, his expression turned more sober. 'How dare he play a trick on Tarika-ji?' he roared angrily.

'Can we please leave Tarika-ji out of this?' asked Dr. Salunkhe, clearly irritated. 'It is Pankaj that I am talking about. He is playing a joke, I'm sure and I want to catch him so that we can play a bigger joke on him – not punish him as if he were a criminal. I chose you because I thought you were smarter than the whole lot. Now don't let your actions make me think otherwise.' he added.

Abhijeet gave him a sheepish grin when he realized that had gotten a bit carried away by the 'lunch room affair', as they called it, and nodded in agreement. 'What can we do? Should we will shadow him and eavesdrop on his conversations with his friends outside the bureau?' he asked, rather confused. 'But that would be a bit too cheap on our part' he added almost immediately.

'I have a better idea sir' said Rajat joining the conversation. Dr. Salunkhe was taken aback by Rajat's sudden interruption. For one, he only knew Rajat as someone who was very focused and dedicated to his job, so much so that he never – never ever allowed himself to be distracted. Secondly, Rajat just didn't seem like a person who enjoyed playing pranks or seeing a fellow colleague in distress. Nevertheless he decided to hear him out. 'Yes Rajat. What is your plan?' he asked.

'Well, I was just wondering..', he began, addressing Abhijeet 'if we can send Pankaj for the hearing. I mean, since none of us are very keen on going, and it involves no danger, we could perhaps send Pankaj' he concluded.

Both Abhijeet and the doctor received the idea with mixed feelings. On one hand it seemed like a good idea for a work that no one else wanted to do could be pushed onto Pankaj, but on a more serious note, it could be dangerous as well. 'That my boy, is a very novel idea', began Dr. Salunkhe 'And since Pankaj has never been to a hearing before, it would be a good exposure for him. But what if the opposition lawyer decides to cross-question Pankaj? He knows nothing about the case' he concluded. That made Abhijeet and Rajat think. 'Yes, that is true… and dangerous' said Rajat, nodding his head in agreement.

'What if we go to his house tonight pretending to be aatmas?' asked Freddy from the doorway. 'Freddy?' screamed the three of them together, quite surprised. He had left for home almost an hour ago citing a dentist's appointment and with no important work at the bureau, it was indeed surprising to see him back. 'We all decided to meet here to discuss plans for Pankaj's birthday party' he said 'Sachin and Vineet will be here soon. Nikhil has gone over to pick the girls up. We kind of had an idea you others were having a meet and so we thought of dropping by before you left for the day' he concluded.

'Where is ACP sir and what about Daya sir?' asked Sachin walking in just then. 'And what's this discussion about?'

'Daya has gone home. He has a headache. But I am very much here' said the assistant commissioner walking in from behind. 'Even I am curious. What is this discussion about', he put in, his face, clearly displaying his curiosity. 'Oh well, since everyone is going to be here in a few minutes, I might as well tell you all the story' replied Dr. Salunkhe, to no one in particular.

Abhijeet called Daya and asked him if he wanted to join them in their discussion and Daya, who was more than keen, readily agreed. He had left for the day complaining of a headache, but the truth was that he wanted to get out of going to court, for the hearing. Solving a crime, catching a criminal and bashing them up was one thing, but he always loathed the procedures that followed the capture of the criminal.

Dr. Salunkhe, in the meanwhile, rushed upstairs to get Tarika. She was one of the 'affected' ones – all thanks to Pankaj's deafness, and there was no reason as to why she should be left out of the discussion. Once at the lab, he helped wrap up the report she was typing and the two rushed down to the bureau. The others, all but Pankaj, were in by then and the discussion began.

'We have gathered here to discuss the…..' began Freddy mockingly and the others cheered loudly for him. 'Lets not waste time. I'll get to the point' put in Dr. Salunkhe, who still couldn't come to terms with the fact that he had been outsmarted by Pankaj. 'Arre doctor sir, we have to discuss Pankaj's birthday plans also. That's our main agenda right?' added Freddy. He had a soft corner for the roly-poly Pankaj and did not want this discussion to be only about his prank.

'Yes.. Yes.. We will discuss both. Lets first hear Salunkhe sir's story' said Rajat taking on the leadership, for he knew that any argument that began in the bureau could take up to hours to sort. There was something in the brisk manner in which he handled things that made the others, immediately sit up straight and brace themselves for the Doctor's version of the story with rapt attention.

Dr. Salunkhe explained his points slowly and clearly. His observation at every point was so apt that, all the listeners could do, was gape at the older man with a sort of new respect. 'Mind-blowing Salunkhe! The way you though it all out was awesome. You will make a good investigator' admitted the ACP soon after the doctor was done with his explanation.

'That little creep! He tricked us into believing that he was sick' hissed Abhijeet half angry that someone succeeded in tricking him. 'Oh come on Abhijeet' said Tarika putting her hands on his shoulders to calm him down 'It was just a joke.' 'I guess he was too tired of all the serious work here that he decided to have some fun' put in Shreya and the others nodded in agreement.

'But it was sort of funny. The way he sang the rhyme, I almost exploded' chuckled Rajat remembering the earlier events of the day. And soon everyone, including Abhijeet began relating their own thoughts about the prank and seeing the funny side of the incident, started laughing merrily until their stomachs hurt. 'Enough.. Enough.. Please.. Lets think of what to do' said Daya holding on to his sides, which had by now, begun to hurt, after all that laughing.

'What about my aatma idea sir? I was thinking….' Began Freddy only to be stopped short by the ACP. 'I have told you many a times to not speak of aatmas in my presence Freddy' he almost bellowed into the poor man's ears. 'Sss… sa.. sorry sir' replied Freddy meekly, rubbing his ears.

'What if we will eat up all his lunch?' asked Nikhil, beaming around, proud of his own idea. 'Nikhil, we are not here for an eating competition, nor are we here to sample his food' put in Daya sarcastically.

'What about confronting him?' It was Vineet this time. 'Nah. There is no fun in that. I want to turn tables on him. Yes. That's what I want to do. Anyone has any sensible ideas?' asked the doctor, who had by now, almost lost all hopes of getting a decent idea from the team.

'They may be good investigators, alright. And may have the courage to fight an army of foes, but when it came to testing their sense of humor, all stood at zero – that is everyone, barring Freddy. But Freddy was far too simple and innocent to think of pranks' thought he, to himself.

'Pankaj is very fond of eating. So the prank has to be with his food' suggested Sachin. 'That's not a bad idea. With food… with food.. can someone think of something? 'asked Rajat, taking charge of the situation again.

'Sir, can I say something?' asked Purvi from the corner, and all eyes, immediately turned to her. 'Of course, Purvi. Out with it' said Abhijeet encouragingly.

'It is his birthday tomorrow. We all know that. And he knows that we know it. I'm sure he is expecting that we give him a surprise and celebrate it' she began. 'Ok. But where is the idea for the prank in it Purvi?' interrupted ACP Pradyuman. 'Can we just listen her out? Before we come to a conclusion?' asked Dr. Salunkhe irritated. He could tell it from her eyes that she had a nice idea and he was just waiting for it when Pradyuman, in his usual self, had interrupted.

'Yeah.. Well.. He also thinks we fell for his 'deafness' story. So why don't we just pretend to do that?' she asked, looking hopefully at the others around. 'How? I mean… How exactly will that help?' asked Daya, rather confused. 'See Daya sir, its like this' Purvi went on to explain as the others listened with bated breadth.

'Pankaj assumes that we believe he is deaf. He will therefore use every opportunity to spy on us, for he knows that we will not bother lowering our volumes when we talk of him. So tomorrow, if we plan his surprise birthday party in the bureau, he is sure to listen and get excited' she said with a twinkle in her eye. 'And at the end of the day, we do just the opposite of everything that we had planned. Pankaj, who would be eagerly waiting for the party would be driven to wonder why!' concluded Vineet.

For a minute, it didn't seem like anyone else understood the plan at all. They just stood still, staring at Purvi and Vineet. 'That's it.. that's it! Good work Purvi' yelled Dr. Salunkhe and the girls came running and thumped her on her back. The boys smiled at each other and the ACP nodded in approval. There was no stopping them then.

The bureau was soon in chaos, with each officer rehearsing his or her part. Even the doctors had parts to play and Tarika was very excited about it. She kept rehearsing her lines until she was word-perfect, much to the amusement of the other girls.

'Oh you don't really have to learn every word by-heart Tarika. Just stick to the basic script and that should do' Shreya had tried tell her. But no. That wouldn't really do. Pankaj had eaten her parathas and now that she had a chance, she was determined to retort. By about midnight, the team was ready to call it quits.

They wished each other a happy night and went to their respective homes smiling all the way, for they each knew how exciting the next day was going to be.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:All those of you who had been waiting for this update, Apologies for making you wait so long. Was out on a vacation and unfortunately, haven't still managed to get my senses back. I have tried my best to do justice to the update. But just incase you feel it is not fit to be called an update or that it is taking away from the main story, do feel free to let me know. I will try and put it right. Thank you all once again, for putting up with me.

...

The new day finally dawned, all bright and clear. There seemed to a great deal of excitement - in all of the officer's houses as well. Even sleepy heads like Daya and Nikhil got out of bed early, looking forward to the day with eager anticipation. Purvi was simply dying to see Pankaj's reactions to all that they had in store for him, while Tarika couldn't wait to start enacting her part, for which she had so painstakingly practiced the previous day. And Shreya was looking forward to showing off her acting skills to Daya, whose attention she was trying to gain in the last few days, but kept failing miserably each time.

Only Freddy seemed to look forward to the day with mixed feelings, for try as he might, he had been unable to think of playing the fool with someone on their birthday. It wasn't that he didn't like playing pranks or anything, for he did. But he didn't feel that the day – Pankaj's birthday, was the right choice of day, to play a prank on him.

They had all reached the bureau quiet early. The girls had gathered at Tarika's house for an early breakfast and had reached the bureau by 7:30, only to find the boys already there. They had reached the bureau as early as 6 O' clock and had just finished their breakfast. Even Dr. Salunkhe was with them. ACP was the only one missing.

'Just like Pradyuman to show absolutely no interest when rest of the team is overjoyed about something' said Dr. Salunkhe banging his fists on the table. That made a loud noise, but what startled the others was a louder noise that came from the direction of the ACP's cabin. 'Jagga?' 'The case in the high court?' 'The case papers' were the thoughts that ran across everyone's minds as they raced to the cabin; imagining the worst. But when they finally reached there, they were in for the biggest surprise.

For there on the visitors' sofa, was lying a pillow, recently slept on and a sheet, crumpled from being used; and right beneath it - on the ground, lay the ACP himself, in his PJs'. For a minute, the whole group kept staring at him, until Shreya finally recovered and gave a small cry of surprise. The girls immediately giggled and turned away, while the younger boys followed suit.

'Pradyuman… Pradyuman.. Hey… Pra…ddyyuu…mannn!' yelled the doctor, almost bending over his friend, who now grunted, and turned over, to what seemed like a more comfortable position. He gave up, exasperated. 'Sir.. ACP sir', it was Abhijeet this time. Daya just looked on with his hands over his mouth, least a giggle escaped his lips. 'Haannn…' the ACP grunted again, before sitting up and lifting his hands up to his eyes.

'Raju.. Bring me my tea…' he yelled, stifling a yawn. The three others in the cabin looked at each other and exchanged smiles before Dr. Salunkhe put his hand on his friend and said 'Open your eyes Pradyuman and look at the world around you. Neither is this your house, nor is there a Raju here'. The ACP, surprised at hearing a familiar voice, that was unfamiliar at home, forced open his eyes, only to have the biggest shock of his life. 'How did I reach here?' he asked springing to his feet, totally ashamed of himself and his attire. He initially squirmed in embarrassment when he saw the others outside the cabin, but regained his composure pretty soon and began questioning the others about random cases from the past. Since they pretty much knew that it was just an attempt to hide his embarrassment, they gave answers with serious faces – all but Daya.

Daya, who had been using all of his will power to control himself, could hold it no longer when the ACP, dressed in nothing but his PJs' stood questioning the others. His sudden explosion was shocking, but sadly contagious, for that had got the others started as well. The ACP, realizing that it was futile even attempting to hide his embarrassment, decided to let go and laugh with the group – but not before deciding to get his own back, at Daya. He explained that he was very excited about the whole plan, much more than he had seemed to and that must have led to him sleepwalking into the bureau – pillow, sheets and all.

The others soon got to work as the ACP headed home to change. It was close to 9 and Pankaj could be expected anytime. It was very important that he didn't smell a rat.

But no. No Pankaj came. It was past 9 and Pankaj was still missing. Looked like he was late. The girls were getting impatient with every passing minute and kept looking at each other for solace. Vineet looked at his watch for the 57th time in 30 minutes. 'So that's roughly about 2 times per minute' he thought to himself. Sachin sat with a bunch of files in front and pretended to be making notes, when in reality, all he was doing was writing the English alphabets A to Z innumerable times. He was getting impatient as well and was worried about his pen running out of ink.

Rajat, Daya and Abhijeet sat at the table in the farthest corner of the bureau – giving others the impression of an important discussion. All they were doing were taking turns in asking 'When do you think he will come?' to each other and discussing the excuses he would probably come up with, for being late. Nikhil and Freddy on the other hand, sat at their respective desks flipping through magazines that were cleverly hidden in between case files.

The huge clock, near the door struck 10 and Dr. Salunkhe let out an exasperated sigh. He had been sitting in the bureau pretending to have come down to discuss a case with the ACP almost an hour back. Tarika was due to join him in another 20 minutes. But there were no signs of both - Pankaj and Pradyuman. Just then, the door opened and in came the ACP, his eyes searching for Pankaj as he walked in. He stopped at the girls' desk and enquired about Pankaj only to be told that he hadn't come in as yet. He walked to his cabin disappointed.

No sooner than he had sat down on his chair, he buzzed for Daya. 'I'm afraid I have some disappointing news for you' he said as soon as Daya had walked in. 'You will have to go and attend the hearing at the high court. The advocate had called to ask for the name of the witness from our end and I have given yours. Its almost time for you to leave. It will only take an hour's time. You will be back by lunch.' he concluded, looking triumphantly at the horrified Daya, who was looking forward to playing the prank on Pankaj. This was his way of getting back at Daya for laughing at him.

Having completed his task for the day, he sat, just like the others, hands folded, waiting for Pankaj.


End file.
